“We are encouraging our clients to fly Southwest Airlines. We are buying more stock…and we stand ready to do anything else to help. Count on our continuing support. ” — Southwest Airlines customer Ann McGee-Cooper, in an October 2001 letter to Southwest President Colleen Barrett. Ann McGee-Cooper is a Southwest Airlines customer who stands by a company she loves. fter the 9/11 attacks, which crippled and jeopardized airlines for months, McGee- Cooper wrote Southwest a letter. She said she was persuading clients, friends and family members to fly Southwest Airlines. She was purchasing tickets on their behalf. She bought the companys stock. Perhaps most tellingly, she included a $500 check with her letter, saying that the airline needed the money “more than I do.” She is more than a loyal customer; SHE IS A CUSTOMER EVANGELIST. Airlines often consider loyal customers as those who accumulate the most frequent flyer miles. This is true for other businesses too, such as grocery stores, clothing stores, pipe-making companies or furniture manufacturers…they may define loyal customers as those who purchase repeatedly. But this loyalty may be driven by convenience or low prices. In eff ect, they are repeat customers, not necessarily loyal customers. Repeat customers… [Are] not necessarily loyal customers. Relying on a frequent-purchaser model exclusively presents lost opportunities. A frequent purchaser may not recommend you. He may even bad-mouth you to friends, colleagues or customers in line or online for any number of reasons. A customer evangelist not only purchases from you regularly, she feels compelled to tell others. Ann McGee-Cooper honestly considers Southwest part of her family. This doesnt mean that Southwest is for everyone; it has its share of detractors who dont care for its policies of no-reserved seats and low frills.

But your business isnt for everyone, either. What makes Southwest and other companies with dedicated armies of evangelists stand apart from their competitors? They have crossed the emotional chasm that separates most businesses with custom-ers. Their customers believe. They dont do it with trickery, or by having the lowest prices, or the fanciest web site. They do it by being authentic. Southwests executives boil it down to “doing business by the Golden Rule.” In almost every example weve found, its the opposite of what most people consider a professional “corporate” relationship. TO UNDERSTAND HOW A CUSTOMER EVANGELIST BEHAVES, HERE ARE SOME CLUES: They passionately recommend your company to friends, neighbors and colleagues. They believe in the company and its people. They purchase your products and services as gifts. They provide unsolicited praise or suggestions of improvement. They forgive occasional sub-par seasons or dips in customer service. They do not want to be bought; they extol your virtues freely. They feel part of something bigger than themselves. The lessons from the original evangelists—the religious believers who roamed the back ways of the world to spread the word of their faith — teach us that beliefs are based on emotional connection, deep-seated convictions and the promise of a bet-ter way. Strongly held beliefs compel many of us to tell others. The root of the word “evangelist” is based on “a bringer of the glad tidings.” But this manifesto is not about religion. Its a diatribe against traditional marketing practices. They no longer work. Theyre being usurped by customer-driven referrals as the valuable new currency in an organizations growth. THE WORLD IS CHANGING. Technology has leveled the playing field to make quality less of a competitive advantage. Product and service saturation is rampant. Were drowning in a sea of media. In a world with so much choice, how do people even make decisions anymore?